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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
September 10, 2020     Shelton Mason County Journal
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September 10, 2020
 
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v Page A-38 Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020 ‘ Sports Kayden Lucas, 9, of Allyn is ranked No. 11 in his age group in Washington by the United States Specialty Sports Assocation after a series of strong performances at a USSSA tournament in July in Florida. Journal photo Lloyd Mullen Ahead of the curve Allyn youth earns state ranking in Florida :5me Johnson“- just/n@masoncounty.com ayden Lucas had a plan. The coronavirus pandemic ad other ideas. ' Lucas, 9, from Allyn, was set to attend a 9U United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) baseball evaluation in Tacoma in May after his parents, Mike and Meghan, signed him up for it. From that evaluation, players would then be selected for a West Coast travel team to go to Florida for a weeklong tournament. But COVID-19 canceled the evalu- ation. As it turned out, Lucas got invited to play in Florida anyway. On July 26 in Melbourne, Florida, Lucas partici— pated in the All-American games at the USSSA Space Complex. “We were told that all the kids from around the USA (would be) eval- uated,” Kayden’s father, Mike, wrote in an email to the Shelton-Mason County Journal. “Once we were told that, we got kind of nervous due to kids coming down (being) really good and from 'big towns and places where they can play baseball year round and Kayden is from the small town of Allyn, Washington, and might not be able to compete with all talent from around the US. “Boy, we were so wrong. (It was) an eye-opener. He ranked high and was placed on the West Coast select team and was able to play on the same team (as kids) from California and Oregon. He was the only 9U player from Washington.” Players were evaluated on 60-yard dash times, fielding and mechanics, field- ing arm velocity with a radar gun, fielding accuracy, batting exit velocity, batting pow- er, mechanics and contact batting. In the pitching portion, players were evalu- ated with 10 pitches — six fastballs and four off-speed pitches — with a radar gun. The top 12 players in each region were placed on a select team representing ' that region. “I love the challenge of one-on-one while pitching against the batter,” Kayden wrote in an email. “I also love aaamaawaaa . is gitaaiag a ataat ha er. 3 aisa Esta slaying baseball with Manda.” Kayden Lucas Youth baseball player from Allyn playing baseball with friends.” Like his favorite Major League Baseball player, Chicago Cubs’ short- stop Javier Baez, Kayden wrote that he likes to play shortstop, which was where he started for the West Coaét team, writing, “I get to be in charge and make a lot of plays.” During the tournament, Kayden played several posi- tions on the field and pitched in three games allowing just four runs to score. “My favorite pitch I throw is a slider/ fastball,” Kayden wrote. “Mainly be- cause I am not al- lowed to throw the slider all the time in order to save my arm” At the plate, Kayden struck out just once — on a high count called strike —— at the tournament. “When I’m up to bat, I think of hitting hard, hitting far and making contact,” Kayden wrote. “I also think about loading and timing the pitch, even if it’s a ball or strike.” Kayden left the Florida event ranked N o. 11 in the USSSA’s Wash- ington rankings and is expected to receive a national ranking soon. , “I met Kayden toward the end of April, when his mom and dad reached out to me and asked if I could watch their son do some drills and possibly give him some pointers, so I jumped on the opportunity to help a future Bulldog out,” North Mason baseball coach Rob Thomas wrote in an email. “As I approached the field, I saw his dad hitting him some ground balls and as I watched, I was thinking, ‘this kid is a natural.’ Kayden’s footwork as he comes through a ground ball and his arm strength at his age was insane to me.” Thomas added that his favorite thing about working with Kayden was that he’s “100% coachable.” “He knows that he is a good base- ball player, but he takes instruction like he is learning it for the first time and this kid is a grinder,” Thomas wrote. “I know that there were days that we would meet and his parents, would say he had been hitting all morning before we met up and then we would practice for an hour to an hour and a half, and then he would get back home and keep working. That is someone that is dedicated to the sport they love.” Kayden wrote that getting to play with kids from all over the country see CURVE, page A-39